So as you already know, there was no pick recap post from this week. If you read my rant from Sunday, you should already know why it didn't happen. I've been too angry to go back and write about the Navy game, it was absolutely horrendous. On top of that, I put up a brutal 1-4. The scoreboard has been updated on the right if you are wondering where you stand. So let's get to the picks from this week's at best, decent slate. First a reminder/request: if you are going to pick, please pick them all. Also, these are the lines (from here), so pick those, no making up lines.
#16 Utah @ #4 TCU (-19.5)
Pick: Utah +19.5
TCU has played good ball this year, but a 3 score favorite against another top 25 team? I don't think so. I think this game will be a little closer, and who knows, maybe this week will be the week TCU gets their dreams crushed.
Stanford @ #9 USC (-10.5)
Pick: Stanford +10.5
I'm making this pick pretty much solely based on the good old transitive property of football. Oregon beat USC by 27. Stanford beat Oregon by 9. Clearly Stanford will beat USC by 36. MATH!
#10 Iowa @ #11 Ohio St (-17)
Pick: Iowa +17
Now Iowa lost their QB Stanzi last week EARLY in their loss to Northwestern. Stanzi is slated to sit this weekend too. While that should mean an easy win for the Buckeyes, I don't think there is a Big TenLeven team I could ever pick to cover a 17 point spread. Wayyyyy too many.
Texas Tech @ #19 Oklahoma St (-4)
Pick: Texas Tech (+4)
What can I say, we are just flat out due for a Mike Leach pirate game. Still no Dez Bryant, let's get crazy.
Notre Dame @ #12 Pittsburgh (-7)
Pick: ND +7
It's simple, if Charlie wants to stick around, this game is pretty much a must win. Beyond that, Pitt is up to 8-1 sure, but who have they beat? Youngstown St, Buffalo, Navy (too soon? too soon), Louisville, UConn, Rutgers, Cuse, S. Florida. Not a great lineup right there. ND is going to come out angry, and last I checked, Pit doesn't run the triple option. Plus, surely Weis can beat the Wannestache right?
There they are, go get em folks.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Saturday, November 7, 2009
I'm fucking terrified. Thoughts on ND's Future
I honestly don’t know where Notre Dame is going. Clearly Weis isn’t cutting it. The fact that he wasn’t fired after 3-9 should’ve used up all of his pity. I wrote a lonnnnnng post after last year’s loss to USC about whether or not Charlie should have a job anymore. At this point, I honestly don’t know what to do. On one hand, Weis clearly isn’t getting the job done. 3-9 was fucking pathetic and inexcusable. The next year, only 7-6…I mean, this shit is not ok at Notre Dame. Then you walk into this year, a talent laden team, a creampuff schedule…and you’ve already lost to a 5-5 Michigan team and a Navy team that just lost to Temple last week. I repeat TEMPLE BEAT THE TEAM THAT JUST BEAT NOTRE DAME FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!!!
Pitt and Stanford both scared me before this game, now Stanford just beat down a good Oregon team, Pitt continued to kill, and we lose to Navy…Holy F. As of now I figure losing one of those is a given, both is a very decent possibility. I feel like Weis can not be trusted with this team anymore. He just isn’t producing. I wish he had succeeded, he’s a Notre Dame guy, good pedigree, but holy shit win a damn game son. I always defend based on his recruiting, and his classes have been great, but they don’t produce, so what do you do??? If the results aren’t there, a change must be made.
But then there is the flip side. First, if they weren’t already gonna leave due to fear of a Bradford-esque injury, or the upcoming labor issues and likely rookie salary cap, you’ve gotta figure if Weis is fired that both Clausen and Tate will leave early. 2nd, you have to wonder how many recruits will leave. Chris Martin, one of if not the top Defensive players in the country, has already said he’s still taking visits even w/ his commit to us, just to keep his options open in case there is a coaching change. Add to that other players who may leave. Then think about having to implement the new system of a new coach on both sides of the ball, and essentially having to hit the reset button on the program.
Plus, who do you go get? There are 3 names you will hear out of Irish fans wanting a change: Brian Kelly (head coach at Cincinatti), Jon Gruden (ESPN Commentator for MNF, former Raiders and Bucs head coach) and Skip Holtz (Head Coach at ECU, son of Lou). there are problems with all 3 options here though:
Brian Kelly: Kelly has done a hell of a job at Cinci the last 2 years. Right now, the Bearcats are undefeated, have the inside track on the Big East and a BCS spot, and a shot at the National Title game, even if it is unlikely. Kelly’s gone 30-6 at Cinci since taking over for the bowl game at the end of the 06 season. This season has been by far the best for Kelly at Cinci, rebounding well from a loss in the Orange bowl to VT 20-7. My question right now, is if I’m Brian Kelly, why leave for a high pressure situation, where you need results quickly or you will be axed, when right now you have built a program and will be treated as the man, the myth, the legend? He has no prior connection to ND, and is currently wrecking shop in arguably the weakest BCS conference…why leave?
Jon Gruden: There are some coaches that thrive in the pros, and some that thrive in college. We’ve seen what happens when that line is crossed by the likes of Spurrier and Carroll. Gruden’s ties to Notre Dame run deep: His dad was an Asst. coach for the Irish while Jon attended Clay HS in South Bend. Gruden thought about going to ND, but knew he wouldn’t get playing time, so he ended up at Dayton after a stop at Muskingum College. While Gruden has a few years of Asst. Coaching in college under his belt, he’s been a coach in the pros since 1992. Gruden had great success as the head coach of the Bucs and Raiders, but is now sitting in the MNF booth. There are 2 things that make me think Gruden won’t work. 1st is the idea that some guys are built for college ball, some are built for the pros. How many coaches can you think of that have had success in both? 2nd, there are quite a few HC jobs in the NFL that look to be vacant at years end. While Gruden has ties to the Irish, coming to Notre Dame is a step down from the NFL, that’s all there is to it. Would it really be worth it for him?
As for Skip…here’s the thing, you will not find someone that loves Lou Holtz more than me. But what the hell has Skip Holtz ever done to make ND fans think he is the answer?? Skip did some good work under his pops as OC between 92-94. But as a head coach: 38-23 at UConn, 29-21 currently at ECU thru last year. ECU made headlines last year, upsetting #17 VT and #8 West Virginia in the 1st two weeks of the year. But the team ended up at 9-5, losing to a decent at best Kentucky team in the Liberty Bowl. Let’s put it this way, if his last name wasn’t Holtz, nobody at ND would know who he is. Is that really the guy you want leading the way?
So the way I see it, our current head coach has proven he can’t win, and while he’s able to get great recruiting classes, hasn’t been able to produce on the field. But at the same time, can this program really afford to start over AGAIN, and would the immediate roster losses be worth any perceived coaching benefits?
What the hell do we do?
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Week 10 College Football picks
So last week the lowest score anybody had was 2-3, I'm gonna call this a sign of improvement kids. Let's see if we can't all go over .500 this week shall we? Not a fantastic slate, but a couple that could be very intriguing. Game on
Vanderbilt @ #1 Florida (-35)
Pick: UF -35
Haven't had a big line game in awhile, so why not. This game has been talked about quite a bit thanks to Brandon Spikes' eye gouging and subsequent self-punishment for the full game. While Spikes is very clearly the best player on the Florida D, the unit as a whole is still very good. The O finally found some legs last week against Georgia. Finally, let's be serious, Vandy is miserable, they're gonna get stomped.
#24 Oklahoma (-6) @ Nebraska
Pick: Nebraska +6
OU is in the death spiral already, and their O has been horrible. Nebraska's O is also abhorrent, but they've still got something to play for in the Big XII North (aka Big II aa). This is gonna be a defensive battle without much scoring, meaning you take the points. Plus, now that Ndamukong Suh has been "punished" but will be playing, the Huskers are in good shape. If there is one thing you can say for the Big XII, they certainly have the funniest driving mishaps in the country. Sergio Kindle runs into an apartment complex while "texting at around 2 AM on a Saturday" Suh goes pinball on a bunch of cars "avoiding a cat at 2:30AM on a Sunday" hilarious. Here's hoping we get a story on Zac Robinson "rear ending a guy while adjusting his radio" or something soon, cause these are great.
#16 Ohio St @ #11 Penn St (-4)
Pick: PSU -4
What can I say, I just really don't trust Pryor yet. The dude is a turnover time bomb, and Penn St has a fantastic D, giving up just over 9 points a game. Expect Evan Royster to get a lot of carries for PSU in this one, coming off of 3 straight 100 yd games (it would be 5, but he just missed with a mere 94 against E. Illinois...on 8 carries). Plus, sweatervests dont repel Zombies, if the highest paid mascot in the NCAA can make it across the field, Tressel could be in trouble.
#9 LSU @ #3 Alabama (-7.5)
Pick: LSU +7.5
That damn half point. At 7 I take Bama, most likely expecting a push. As always the oddsmakers are in my soul. I think this is gonna be a close ballgame. LSU has won 5 of the last 6 against Bama, but I don't know if Jordan Jefferson has enough firepower to get by Bama's ridiculous D. On the other side, LSU also has a fantastic D. Between the guy that should win the Heisman right now, Mark Ingram, and the ever dangerous Julio Jones, Bama's got more weapons on O than LSU and I think will end up taking a close, hard fought battle here in a game that will push them up to #2 in the country.
Navy @ #22 Notre Dame (-12)
Pick: ND -12
While ND couldn't pull off the cover last weekend, 12 is a much more manageable spread. Don't expect this to be too much of a beatdown tho. Navy will stay on the ground, burning clock, and the last thing Weis is gonna do is run the score up on a service academy. That being said, the Irish O is absurdly good, and, answering my prayers, the Cannon, Michael Floyd, will be back for limited action. Now he isn't gonna be on the field for every play, but just having #3 back out there is freaking fantastic. Sadly, Armando Allen is still banged up, and may be limited, while Trevor Robinson is definitely out. Still, ND shouldn't have trouble putting up points. On the flip side, while ND isn't gonna be mentioned w/ the Bama's of the world in terms of defense, they actually are very effective at stopping the run. While Navy's option attack can scare teams a bit since you will only see it once a year, I'd much rather know a team is gonna run it 40 times a game then have to worry about if our secondary came out after a pregame gasoline shower ready to get torched by WRs.
So there they are kids, ABC. A= Always, B= Be, C= Closing, ALWAYS be closing! Let's make some money and pick some winners this week. Go get em.
Vanderbilt @ #1 Florida (-35)
Pick: UF -35
Haven't had a big line game in awhile, so why not. This game has been talked about quite a bit thanks to Brandon Spikes' eye gouging and subsequent self-punishment for the full game. While Spikes is very clearly the best player on the Florida D, the unit as a whole is still very good. The O finally found some legs last week against Georgia. Finally, let's be serious, Vandy is miserable, they're gonna get stomped.
#24 Oklahoma (-6) @ Nebraska
Pick: Nebraska +6
OU is in the death spiral already, and their O has been horrible. Nebraska's O is also abhorrent, but they've still got something to play for in the Big XII North (aka Big II aa). This is gonna be a defensive battle without much scoring, meaning you take the points. Plus, now that Ndamukong Suh has been "punished" but will be playing, the Huskers are in good shape. If there is one thing you can say for the Big XII, they certainly have the funniest driving mishaps in the country. Sergio Kindle runs into an apartment complex while "texting at around 2 AM on a Saturday" Suh goes pinball on a bunch of cars "avoiding a cat at 2:30AM on a Sunday" hilarious. Here's hoping we get a story on Zac Robinson "rear ending a guy while adjusting his radio" or something soon, cause these are great.
#16 Ohio St @ #11 Penn St (-4)
Pick: PSU -4
What can I say, I just really don't trust Pryor yet. The dude is a turnover time bomb, and Penn St has a fantastic D, giving up just over 9 points a game. Expect Evan Royster to get a lot of carries for PSU in this one, coming off of 3 straight 100 yd games (it would be 5, but he just missed with a mere 94 against E. Illinois...on 8 carries). Plus, sweatervests dont repel Zombies, if the highest paid mascot in the NCAA can make it across the field, Tressel could be in trouble.
#9 LSU @ #3 Alabama (-7.5)
Pick: LSU +7.5
That damn half point. At 7 I take Bama, most likely expecting a push. As always the oddsmakers are in my soul. I think this is gonna be a close ballgame. LSU has won 5 of the last 6 against Bama, but I don't know if Jordan Jefferson has enough firepower to get by Bama's ridiculous D. On the other side, LSU also has a fantastic D. Between the guy that should win the Heisman right now, Mark Ingram, and the ever dangerous Julio Jones, Bama's got more weapons on O than LSU and I think will end up taking a close, hard fought battle here in a game that will push them up to #2 in the country.
Navy @ #22 Notre Dame (-12)
Pick: ND -12
While ND couldn't pull off the cover last weekend, 12 is a much more manageable spread. Don't expect this to be too much of a beatdown tho. Navy will stay on the ground, burning clock, and the last thing Weis is gonna do is run the score up on a service academy. That being said, the Irish O is absurdly good, and, answering my prayers, the Cannon, Michael Floyd, will be back for limited action. Now he isn't gonna be on the field for every play, but just having #3 back out there is freaking fantastic. Sadly, Armando Allen is still banged up, and may be limited, while Trevor Robinson is definitely out. Still, ND shouldn't have trouble putting up points. On the flip side, while ND isn't gonna be mentioned w/ the Bama's of the world in terms of defense, they actually are very effective at stopping the run. While Navy's option attack can scare teams a bit since you will only see it once a year, I'd much rather know a team is gonna run it 40 times a game then have to worry about if our secondary came out after a pregame gasoline shower ready to get torched by WRs.
So there they are kids, ABC. A= Always, B= Be, C= Closing, ALWAYS be closing! Let's make some money and pick some winners this week. Go get em.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Week 9 CFB Pick Results
Well, another week, same result. It appears I'm destined to go 2-3 from here on out. Let's do this shall we?
Georgia @ #1 Florida (-14.5) (Game in Jacksonville)
Pick: UGA +14.5
Result: 41-17 Florida: Loss
Well, the Gators finally decided to put it all together. In a game that featured quite a bit of chippiness and led to some suspensions for super stud LB Brandon Spikes for a good old fashioned eye gouge, the Gators finally looked like the #1 team in all the land during this dismantling. Tebow had 2 TDs on the ground, and 2 through the air to finally look like that Heisman guy we all remember. Meanwhile, the Dawgs gave the ball away 4 times to Florida's 0...not a winning recipe.
#3 Texas (-9) @ #14 Oklahoma St.
Pick: Texas -9
Result: 41-14 Texas: Win
Another absolute beatdown. Colt McCoy only threw for 149 and 1 TD, but Zac Robinson felt like throwing to UT's players as much as Colt did with 4 picks on the day. The Horns D took back 2 of those picks for TDs and the Offense only had to not screw up to complete this beatdown. Mack Brown's complete dominance of the Cowboys (he's never lost) continues another year.
#5 USC (-3) @ #10 Oregon
Pick: USC -3
Result: 47-20 Oregon: L
I'm such a freaking pansy, I mean, I might as well be wearing a skirt while making picks. To quote Thursday: "Man, I want to pick Oregon here, I really wanna take Oregon. USC the last couple weeks has had some real close calls, their D has gotten shredded lately, and the Ducks can put up points..." Should've trusted my gut, but I'm a lil girl it appears. The Ducks flat out killed USC. The Trojans haven't had a loss this bad since 1997. It's their first double digit loss since 2001. Jeremiah Masoli showed he doesn't need LaGarrette Blount, throwing for 222 and running for another 164 w/ 2 combined TDs. His other RB, LaMichael James (seriously, Oregon...slow your roll w/ the gratuitous name prefixes) went off for another 183 and a TD. The Ducks put up 613 total yards on the Trojans...613!! Hell of a win in what some people are calling the end of an era. I wouldn't go that far yet, SC will be back, they aren't dead yet. But I'd be lying if I said I don't love seeing them get crushed. If only I had the testicular fortitude to pick it.
#22 S. Carolina @ Tennessee (-6)
Pick: UT -6
Result: 31-13 Tenn: W
Well at least the game I felt the most confident about came through for me. SCAR gave the ball away 4 times whlie Tennessee score 2 through the air and RB Montario Hardesty (the man behind the black jerseys along w/ Beastmaster Eric Berry according to ESPN) had a huge week, running for 121 and 2 TDs.
Washington St. @ #25 Notre Dame (-27.5)
Pick: ND -27.5
Result: 40-14 ND: L
Damn you Vegas...so so so close. Obviously 4 TD lines are meant to punish you, but getting so tantalizingly close just hurts. As for the game itself, it was a pretty one sided affair. Jimmy Clausen went for 268 yds and 2 TD's on 22 of 27 passing. While many, including me, probably expected better numbers, Jimmy didn't even play the full game, giving way to backups in the 2nd half after getting a lil banged up and the result no longer being in question. The Irish had a fantastically balanced attack w/ 337 through the air and a 255 on the ground thanks to Robert Hughes and all kinds of Leprecat shenanigans. The play of the day tho came at the end of the 1st half when Golden Tate felt like reminding everyone once again that he's insanely better than everyone else:
Seriously...dude's a freak.
Record this week: 2-3
Record for the year: 16-24 (.400)
But how did you kids fare?
Matt
Results this week: 3-2
Results for the year: 20-18 (.526)
Judson
Results this week: 3-2
Results for the year: 22-18 (.550)
Kristin
Results this week: 2-3
Results for the year:9-22 (.290)
David L.
Results this week: 2-3
Results for the year: 18-17 (.514)
Ryan
Results this week:2-3
Results for the year: 15-25 (.375)
Donnie B
Results this week: 2-3
Results for the year: 14-21 (.400)
2-3's abound again. Nobody was worse than that, we're slowly improving. Let's keep this trend goin kids. Til tomorrow.
Georgia @ #1 Florida (-14.5) (Game in Jacksonville)
Pick: UGA +14.5
Result: 41-17 Florida: Loss
Well, the Gators finally decided to put it all together. In a game that featured quite a bit of chippiness and led to some suspensions for super stud LB Brandon Spikes for a good old fashioned eye gouge, the Gators finally looked like the #1 team in all the land during this dismantling. Tebow had 2 TDs on the ground, and 2 through the air to finally look like that Heisman guy we all remember. Meanwhile, the Dawgs gave the ball away 4 times to Florida's 0...not a winning recipe.
#3 Texas (-9) @ #14 Oklahoma St.
Pick: Texas -9
Result: 41-14 Texas: Win
Another absolute beatdown. Colt McCoy only threw for 149 and 1 TD, but Zac Robinson felt like throwing to UT's players as much as Colt did with 4 picks on the day. The Horns D took back 2 of those picks for TDs and the Offense only had to not screw up to complete this beatdown. Mack Brown's complete dominance of the Cowboys (he's never lost) continues another year.
#5 USC (-3) @ #10 Oregon
Pick: USC -3
Result: 47-20 Oregon: L
I'm such a freaking pansy, I mean, I might as well be wearing a skirt while making picks. To quote Thursday: "Man, I want to pick Oregon here, I really wanna take Oregon. USC the last couple weeks has had some real close calls, their D has gotten shredded lately, and the Ducks can put up points..." Should've trusted my gut, but I'm a lil girl it appears. The Ducks flat out killed USC. The Trojans haven't had a loss this bad since 1997. It's their first double digit loss since 2001. Jeremiah Masoli showed he doesn't need LaGarrette Blount, throwing for 222 and running for another 164 w/ 2 combined TDs. His other RB, LaMichael James (seriously, Oregon...slow your roll w/ the gratuitous name prefixes) went off for another 183 and a TD. The Ducks put up 613 total yards on the Trojans...613!! Hell of a win in what some people are calling the end of an era. I wouldn't go that far yet, SC will be back, they aren't dead yet. But I'd be lying if I said I don't love seeing them get crushed. If only I had the testicular fortitude to pick it.
#22 S. Carolina @ Tennessee (-6)
Pick: UT -6
Result: 31-13 Tenn: W
Well at least the game I felt the most confident about came through for me. SCAR gave the ball away 4 times whlie Tennessee score 2 through the air and RB Montario Hardesty (the man behind the black jerseys along w/ Beastmaster Eric Berry according to ESPN) had a huge week, running for 121 and 2 TDs.
Washington St. @ #25 Notre Dame (-27.5)
Pick: ND -27.5
Result: 40-14 ND: L
Damn you Vegas...so so so close. Obviously 4 TD lines are meant to punish you, but getting so tantalizingly close just hurts. As for the game itself, it was a pretty one sided affair. Jimmy Clausen went for 268 yds and 2 TD's on 22 of 27 passing. While many, including me, probably expected better numbers, Jimmy didn't even play the full game, giving way to backups in the 2nd half after getting a lil banged up and the result no longer being in question. The Irish had a fantastically balanced attack w/ 337 through the air and a 255 on the ground thanks to Robert Hughes and all kinds of Leprecat shenanigans. The play of the day tho came at the end of the 1st half when Golden Tate felt like reminding everyone once again that he's insanely better than everyone else:
Seriously...dude's a freak.
Record this week: 2-3
Record for the year: 16-24 (.400)
But how did you kids fare?
Matt
Results this week: 3-2
Results for the year: 20-18 (.526)
Judson
Results this week: 3-2
Results for the year: 22-18 (.550)
Kristin
Results this week: 2-3
Results for the year:9-22 (.290)
David L.
Results this week: 2-3
Results for the year: 18-17 (.514)
Ryan
Results this week:2-3
Results for the year: 15-25 (.375)
Donnie B
Results this week: 2-3
Results for the year: 14-21 (.400)
2-3's abound again. Nobody was worse than that, we're slowly improving. Let's keep this trend goin kids. Til tomorrow.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
